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Aganorsa Tobacco

This might help you get started figuring it out. I bought some of their lines years ago. Really nice tobacco, although I think Pepin would make better blends.
http://www.casadefernandez.com/

Man, this is stretching my brain, but I think Fernandez was, to some degree, Pepin's partner years ago. Lawsuit over Ashton, etc. and I don't know if they are still associated in any way.

ETA: Regarding customs for other folks, I don't know. They may or may not be associated with Raices Cubanas. You might also try searching under their Blenders name, "Arsenio Ramos".

Interesting hit from typing both Casa Fernandez and Raices Cubanas I pretty well thought I knew this, but it's been a while:
http://halfwheel.com/review-casa-fernandez-lancero
 
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CA article on AGANORSA from 2012 (linky)

Casa Fernandez and Illusione are the obvious big ones, but you also have Viaje (at least what they're still making at Raices), Warped, and Foundation. If it's rolled at TABSA, it's probably mostly AGANORSA leaf.

IIRC though, most cigars made in Nica have at least a leaf or two of AGANORSA leaf in them... Drew Estates, Pepin's stuff, etc. Hell, I remember reading once that Padron and Joya bought tobacco from AGANORSA at some point, but I don't recall where I read that.
 
Thanks. I've been hearing people raving about cigars that have Aganorsa tobacco in it, esp recently released ones, but trying to find a comprehensive list is tough.
 
And this is why this forum is so awesome.

I have no idea what y'all are talking about, but it gives me something to go learn about. I love it!
 
No worries, Scap... to summarize: Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A.--known by the acronym of AGANORSA--is a major tobacco company in Nicaragua. They also own the Tabacalara Tropical (TABSA) factory in Esteli. They first "burst on the scene" with Illusione's first Cigar Aficionado accolades in 2007, although they had been at it long before then.

Several cigar brands are manufactured at TABSA by blender Arsenio Ramos and owner Eduardo Fernandez including most Illusiones, their own brand Casa Fernandez, Nick Melillo's El Güegüense, some of Kyle Gellis's Warped, and others. Still more Nica manufacturers buy leaf from AGANORSA to use in their own cigars. Racies Cubanas in Honduras also still maintains some relationship with AGANORSA, although I'm not positive what the details are... I just know a lot of Racies cigars-- Alec Bradley, Viaje, and the Illusione Epernay--are still mostly or all made with AGANORSA tobacco.
 
Thread bump for a couple updates.

Hadn't realized it at the time, but Casa Fernandez had sued Pepin roughly around the time Pepin kicked Padilla to the curb and started My Father. I think this is what Danno was getting at in his first post above. I'm not sure how it turned out, or even if it's relevant today, but it does shine some light on why Padilla's Pepin blends were so awesome... they were Aganorsa sticks. (Linky to halfwheel article detailing the lawsuit)

On a more positive note, Casa Fernandez hired Terence Reilly--formerly of Quesada (Manuel is his uncle)--to take over sales and marketing. It seems there was an acknowledgement in-house at Casa Fernandez that their brands & lines were difficult to figure out, which severely hindered brand recognition. Hell, I'm a CF fanboy and I struggle with it. Simply put, the marketing wasn't up to snuff.

Terence has been in the job since December and has already rejuvenated CF's social media outreach (like 'em on FB under the name "Casa Fernandez is Aganorsa"). I've chatted with Terence a couple times on FB and I've very excited to see what he has in store for CF/Aganorsa over the next year or so. Here's a pretty good interview Mr. Reilly did with the folks at Small Batch Cigars (linky).

Also of note, it looks like we're writing it "Aganorsa" now and no longer the all-caps acronym of "AGANORSA".
 
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mjolnir01 said:
Thread bump for a couple updates.
On a more positive note, Casa Fernandez hired Terence Reilly--formerly of Quesada (Manuel is his uncle)--to take over sales and marketing. It seems there was an acknowledgement in-house at Casa Fernandez that their brands & lines were difficult to figure out, which severely hindered brand recognition. Hell, I'm a CF fanboy and I struggle with it. Simply put, the marketing wasn't up to snuff.

Terence has been in the job since December and has already rejuvenated CF's social media outreach (like 'em on FB under the name "Casa Fernandez is Aganorsa"). I've chatted with Terence a couple times on FB and I've very excited to see what he has in store for CF/Aganorsa over the next year or so. Here's a pretty good interview Mr. Reilly did with the folks at Small Batch Cigars (linky).

Also of note, it looks like we're writing it "Aganorsa" now and no longer the all-caps acronym of "AGANORSA".
Click to expand...

They really have changed their social media presence for the better. For being "the source" for so many great cigars, I haven't known enough about them to work my way through their cigars. Hell, it was actually being a Warped fanboy that got me to try their Guardian of the Farm line, which I think is an incredible value. From there I've tried more of their stuff, but overall they definitely lack identity. I've chatted with Max a few times on Instagram because he seems to make it to Kansas City relatively often, and he seems like a good dude...cool without being a hipster. Looking forward to seeing where they take the brand, with all of the over the top marketing in the biz I'm hoping to see some classic old school panache.
 
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